COVID-19 will hit a host of golf ’s caddies hard
Golf is on lockdown. Both in Europe and across the Pond.
Following hard on the heels of the abandonment of the Players Championship, Friday’s announcement that The Masters the opening Major of the year – had been postponed, was the shocking – but correct – culmination of the game’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier last week, two tournaments went from the European Tour calendar with this month’s Indian Open as well as the Czech Masters in August being cancelled.
That had followed the decision last month to postpone the Maybank Championship and China Open, scheduled for April, followed by the postponement of the Kenya Open, due to be played this weekend.
The LPGA postponed its next three events, including the ANA Inspiration, the season’s first Major, while the inaugural Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour, due to begin next Thursday has also been postponed.
The Players’ Championship was cancelled with three rounds remaining, after the PGA Tour had stated that they would go ahead with no spectators allowed in.
They have also cancelled its next three scheduled tournaments that were to lead up to The Masters.
The game’s governing bodies will meet early this week to discuss what will happen with the PGA Championship, due to take place at Harding Park in San Francisco in May, and the Open Championship at Royal St George’s in July amongst others, will be under discussion.
It leaves the sport in limbo as players face up to weeks without action. And no golf means no money.
But while many of the millionaires playing the game will be able to take a short financial hit, it is not so easy for the rest of the travelling golf circus.
Gus Hay is in his seventh season as a full-time caddie on the European Tour, and has spent the last three-and-a-half years on the bag of Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren, who finished 75th in the 2019 Race to Dubai with earnings of nearly £540,000.
The Coupar Angus native, formerly a St Andrews caddie, has revealed to The Sunday Post how it will affect the bagmen on the Tour, with the next tournament – as it currently stands – the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama, not due to begin until April 30.
“A lot of my mates will probably have to get part-time jobs from caddying for the next few weeks,” he admits.
“As a caddie, you have good years and bad years. If you had a bad year last year, you could be struggling for cash and start to feel the pinch.
“Caddying is the best job in the world and you get to travel the globe and spend time with a great group of lads.
“But there are highs and lows. You’re all chasing the golden carrot in that big-money tournament where you could be 100,000 euros richer if your man wins. Those are the rewards.
“But it’s all performance-based. If the player is not performing and he’s missing cuts, you’re not making any money either.”
Lagergren had not intended to play in either Kenya or India and Malaysia and China were postponed before travel arrangements had been made, so Gus hasn’t lost any money on wasted flights or hotel costs.
But many of the other caddies have not been so lucky.
It means that Gus, who now lives and travels out of Brussels, can only sit and wait for news of when golf can begin again.
But he knows the whole infrastructure that goes into a golf tournament will suffer.
“Events like the Open and the BMW PGA at Wentworth can take up six months to be set up,” says Gus.
“If they are not on, it affects building contractors, caterers, people working in the tented villages.
“Everyone will feel it. Or a town where an event is played won’t get that financial boost. There is a real knock-on effect.
“But, hopefully when golf does start again, we’ll all come back with renewed energy and enthusiasm, ready to salvage the season.”